A commercial in twelve languages, in which Israeli artist Noam Bettan urged viewers to vote for his song the maximum of ten times, was released on Friday. But the organiser EBU quickly demanded that the film be taken down.
Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna next week is controversial due to the country's war in Gaza, which has led five countries to boycott the contest. Another criticism in the Eurovision context has been the extensive marketing campaigns asking for votes.
They have been sanctioned by the government and Israel has been accused of manipulating the viewer vote in this way.
Since last year, the EBU has therefore introduced stricter regulations against third-party marketing to curb disproportionate campaigns in connection with Eurovision. However, the commercial in question was paid for by the public service company KAN and does not formally violate the rules.
Despite this, the EBU chose to stop the commercial.
"Although it was a limited event and not paid for by an outside party, we asked that it be taken down immediately," the EBU wrote in a message to participating broadcasters, which Aftonbladet has seen.
The EBU urges broadcasters to review any advertising campaigns.
"While it is permissible to ask people to vote for them, it is not acceptable to ask for multiple votes."
Israeli artist Noam Bettan and Sweden's Felicia will both perform in the first semi-final on Tuesday.
